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Need help wiring from camper to truck battery


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#1 traveller

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 01:54 AM

Posted this on the FWC forum but 0 response..Hopefully I can get some help here.

 

I just bought a used FWC Fleet. I also bought a wiring kit from FWC that I am trying to install. No instructions came with it and I am not 100 % sure about wiring it.  Please review my wiring diagram.

 

What size fuse should I install?

Do I need to ground this setup somehow or does everything look ok?

 

Appreciate all suggestions.

 

 

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#2 Colorado Mark

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 01:11 PM

What year/make/model truck do you have?

 

A lot of new trucks come wired for trailer tow package and might even have a camper plug in the bed.  If yours has that, use what is already there.

 

If it has a plug in the bed for a camper, just get a plug and wire it your self.  It it has a rear plug for trailer tow, splice into the charge wire running to the back plug.


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#3 Beach

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 02:12 PM

Assuming you will be charging a house battery in the camper. I would use a single breaker for circuit protection since breakers can be readily reset. It should be installed within the first couple feet of the battery. Wire size depends on long a run you have to the camper and how much voltage drop your willing to allow(less than 3% would be good) and what rate of charge you need/want. Use quality marine grade connectors if you can source them, jacketed wire will protect against chafe through and I highly recommend it. Just my 2 cents, you'll likely get varying replies and most will work fine.


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#4 lmwilco1

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 03:01 PM

The fuse needs to be sized to protect the wire that you run from the truck battery to the bed of the truck and into the camper. What gauge wire is in the kit? I think they typically use 10 gauge wire which should use a 40-50A fuse, 12 gauge wire would be a 30A fuse. The voltage drop between the truck and camper battery will never let that much current flow through the wire. On my 2019 Grandby, the yellow wire was pos, black was neg, and green was the running lights. 

 

The link below has good information on selecting wire size and fuses for marine environments and I think it applies to campers as well.

 

https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437


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#5 traveller

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 03:50 PM

Do I need to add a fuse or is the thermal breaker enough? I believe that the breaker acts like a fuse but I am not sure.
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#6 CougarCouple

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 06:18 PM

Hi Traveller
Fuse and breaker only differ in one respect. Fuses are a single use protection breaker can be reset.
Circut protection is for the wire, and should be as close to you battery as possible. If you are using a refrigerator there should be a separate fuse for the refrigerator. Lights should have there own fuse. ect.
Thermal protection protect‘s the trolling motor.
If you look at charts for wire size and fuse size they are rated by current draw.
You will see the longer the wire the fuse size will drop. You would size the wire and fuse from the refrigerator based on the power consumption and initial start up amps for said refrigerator. Repeat for next circut.

Good luck sir.

Russ

Edited by CougarCouple, 23 August 2020 - 06:20 PM.

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#7 Old Crow

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 07:00 PM

Click on the Steps to Wiring a Truck link in this post.  That's from a few years ago but should give you some good info.  Note that wire colors change at the the Atwood plug.  Also- the battery isolator shown in that diagram is the older Sure Power 1314/1314A one. 

 

The diagram shows a 30-amp thermal breaker.

 

.


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#8 traveller

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 07:08 PM

Old Crow, thanks so much.  The camper wiring diagram in the link was exactly what I needed. 


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#9 rando

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 10:12 PM

There seems to be some confusion here, the 'thermal breaker' is the circuit breaker or OCPD (over current protection device).   You don't need a fuse or breaker in addition to this.  

 

Before wiring this up, how much charge current do you want/need from the truck?   

 

Do you plan on mostly using solar to charge the camper batteries, or do you want to charge primarily from the alternator?   

 

The reason I ask, is that the 10AWG wire that comes with the kit will limit the charge current to the camper battery, and particularly with newer alternators you may get very little charge current from the truck.  If you do want charge from the truck, you may want to use larger wire, or consider a DC-DC charger to use with the current wire. 


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#10 CougarCouple

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Posted 24 August 2020 - 12:51 AM

Hi Rando
Maybe I’m misleading by my previous post. Thermal breakers I thought were to protect devices, and would be up near the device. Where as fuses/circuit breakers are for the wire, and close to the power supply.

Didn’t learn that anywhere or read it in a book. Just the word thermal, and the fact there motor was in OP diagram. Is where my mind went.

Russ
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